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Guiding Principles
Mission
Vision
Purpose
The Future
Working Together
Wellmark’s guiding principle is to improve health. How? By providing
members with a choice of quality physicians and hospitals, and creating
value for them by forming partnerships with key stakeholders -- members,
providers, and their communities.
Wellmark has identified four components
critical to improving the health of its members:
- High-Value Products
and Services
Because employers and their employees increasingly select
coverage based on price AND quality, they want more from every health
care dollar
they spend. To provide value, Wellmark offers flexible benefit designs,
competitive prices, and a large selection of providers. In fact, nearly
all physicians in both Iowa and South Dakota and all hospitals in both
states participate with Wellmark.
- Provider Alliances
Members want to
have good relationships with their doctors to be sure they’re
receiving the best care. Wellmark wants to have a good relationship
with doctors
for the same reason. That’s why Wellmark has committed itself
to forming strategic partnerships and joint ventures with health care
providers
that align quality of care, member satisfaction, and the economic interests
of everyone involved.
Wellmark works with physicians and hospitals to
develop preventive and clinical care guidelines that identify the
best practices
for high-cost, high-occurrence diseases. Establishing common standards
results in reduced treatment variability, allowing all of us to keep
costs down. These guidelines are continuously reviewed to ensure
that recommended
treatments meet or exceed the industry’s "best practice" standards.
-
Empowered
Employees
People don’t like calling insurance providers
with claim questions any more than they liked the procedure or
hospitalization that led to the claim. Calling can be very frustrating
and take more
time than they like. Wellmark has streamlined its structure to
be more responsive
to members’ needs. For example, fewer layers of management
between customers and the company means employees are free to make
customer-focused
decisions.
- Financial Strength
Wellmark is one of the most financially
sound health care companies not only within the Blue Cross Blue
Shield Association, but nationally as well. In 2004, Wellmark
received an "A” (Excellent)
rating from A.M. Best, and an “A+” (Strong) claims-paying
ability rating from Standard and Poor’s.
While it’s
important to do well financially, Wellmark doesn’t pride
itself on huge profit margins. To seek a balance between profit
and marketplace
growth, Wellmark’s
goal is to realize a 2 percent operating margin, and use the
better results to improve health status in the communities
it serves.
Mission
Wellmark's mission is to provide a broad array of high quality, accessible, affordable,
and cost-competitive health insurance products and services.
Vision
Continuously improving the health of our members and the communities
we serve. We envision a future in which every generation experiences
greater quality of health and improved quality of life.
Purpose
- Maintaining the integrity of the health care system in Iowa
and South Dakota
- Keeping the cost of products and services affordable
- Providing exceptional service
- Working cooperatively and through innovative approaches with
providers of care
- Maintaining a positive, open, and accountable environment to
our staff
- Offering broad provider choice in our networks
- Creating exceptional value for our customers
The Future
Today,
Wellmark focuses on educating its members on how they can
be proactive consumers of health care. Decisions Count® is a multi-dimensional
health care cost education initiative which provides information
about why
health care costs are rising, what can be done to control
them,
and how premium
dollars are used to cover these escalating costs. Find out
more
on Decisions
Count.
Wellmark
is also working on a "disease management" system,
which coordinates resources across the health care delivery
system and
throughout the
life cycle of a disease. The goal is to help treat disease
in its earliest stage in the most clinically sound and cost-effective
manner, which
will
reduce
the need for costly intervention later.
Working Together
Health
improvement
is a dynamic and interactive process. It’s a combined
effort among members, their families, employers, health care
providers,
and of course,
Wellmark.
Network providers are leading the health management
process by:
- Staying current on treatment and prevention
techniques
- Providing
services
that follow nationally accepted measures and meet
patient satisfaction levels
Wellmark continues to look for new
ways to help its members
receive the highest quality health care at the
most affordable price. The company
will also continue its Decisions Count health care
cost campaign locally, and works with policy makers nationally
to ensure that all Americans
receive affordable health care.
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